I wonder if the education big shots – those with the lion’s share of responsibility for the education system – sleep well at night. If I had their portfolios, I don’t think I would. The interminable list of education shortcomings, coupled with the hard fact that the lives of youngsters – and the future of […]
I was interested in the comment on blood transfusion in your December 2004 edition included in a book review on an Africa Aids education series for secondary schools (Seeing the full picture). The comment reads: ‘I thought the section covering blood transfusions should have stressed the dangers associated with this, rather than giving readers a […]
For over 600 learners in the Western Cape the 2002 matric results must have been music to their ears. Literally. That’s because the 305 higher grade and 363 standard grade learners all passed their matric music exams – some with honours. But if music is truly the food of love then thousands of learners countrywide […]
It’s not new, but getting louder: the Department of Education’s maddening mantra about improving maths and science, M & S, M & S — There are more awards than I can count for maths and science teachers – but what about the ones for outstanding history, geography and life-orientation teachers? And, of course, there’s the […]
I recently tried to help a mother sort out a school fees nightmare. She has four of her own children at schools, and is paying for the education of two of her relatives. The six are enrolled at four different schools. As a domestic worker, she doesn’t exactly make a fortune, and the going sometimes […]
When we initially estblished the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union, it was to fight against the apartheid regime. That does not mean that we have now stopped fighting. We will continue to fight, even with the present Gauteng department of education (GDE) if it acts unjustly. Let us take a closer look at some recent […]
I was delighted to see the space allocated to early childhood development (ECD) and some of the challenges facing the sector in your January edition. The front-page article, ‘Suffer, little children”, referred, however, to the issue of training for ECD practitioners and specifically the practitioners at the two pre-schools in the Free State visited by […]
The town of Ceres seems an unlikely site for the study of the dynamics of long-term poverty. From the top of Mitchell’s Pass, it looks like the fertile, sun-drenched valley described by advertising copywriters on the boxes of Ceres fruit juice. But life here is far from idyllic for the thousands of seasonal fruit pickers who eke out a livelihood in the midst of abundant natural resources.
The Department of Education’s (DoE) release of the Review of the Financing, Resourcing and Costs of Education in Public Schools this month has acknowledged some important weaknesses in the education system. The review, conducted last year, aims to improve efficiency and outcomes of education resourcing policies for public schools in the country. One key weakness […]
Education is a lifelong concern for former president Nelson Mandela and much of his time is spent trying to redress the imbalances of the past. Nelson Mandela was born Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela on July 18 1918 at Mvezo rural village, 35kms north of Umtata. Mandela’s given name Rolihlahla, in his Xhosa home-language, means ‘stirring up […]